Heathrow Arrivals – Pick Up Guide

Picking up a guest or your love ones at Heathrow could turn into a frustrating experience if you do not have the right information in hand. For minimal hassle, you will need to have answers to these questions in advance:

Which flight is your guest taking?

Which Heathrow terminal will your guest arrive at?

What is the scheduled arrival time for the flight?

Is there any delay in arrival time?

After the flight has landed, how much time does it take for passengers to clear border control and custom check?

Have you informed your guest about the exact pick up point / meeting point at Heathrow?

Is your guest contactable on his/her mobile phone?

Pick Up Guide for Heathrow Arrivals

Which flight is your guest taking to Heathrow Airport?

There are literally hundreds of arrivals at Heathrow airport everyday. It is best that you write down the flight code and number for the flight taken by your guest. Keep the flight code and number handy if you cannot memorize it because you need them when you want to check for the flight status.

Which Heathrow terminal will your guest arrive at?

If you have the flight code and number in hand, you could easily check the arrival terminal at Heathrow airport for any flight. You can either check the Live Flight Arrival Board or use the Check Flight status search box to find out the exact Heathrow terminal a flight will be arriving at.

What is the scheduled arrival time at Heathrow for the flight?

Similarly, you can check for the arrival time for all Heathrow arrivals through either the Live Flight Arrival Board or the Check Flight status. Through these two pages, you could also set up a Flight Alert that will text you automatically if there is any delay in arrival time. In addition, there is also a Track Flight function that allows you to track the flight on its route before it arrives at Heathrow Airport.

Is there any delay in arrival time at Heathrow?

Delays are not uncommon for Heathrow arrivals to be delayed by 15 minutes or more. These could be caused by a wide range of factors such as adverse weather conditions, delays in departures and delays in arrivals due to air traffic congestion. The easiest way to stay updated on the delays in arrival time is through the Flying Messenger sms services provided by Heathrow Airport. For Flying Messenger service, you will get one status update about a flight. The charge is 25p (on top of your standard SMS rate charged by our carrier. If you would like to get multiple updates, you should go for the Flying Messenger PLUS which deliver multiple updates until the flight arrived at Heathrow at the price of 75p (on top of your standard SMS rate). Alternatively, if you subscribe to mobile data plan, just download the mobile app to get free updates on your smartphone.

After the flight has landed, how much time does it take for passengers to clear border control and custom check?

After from flight delay, passport clearance at UK Border Control (Immigration) at Heathrow is also the biggest contributor to Heathrow arrivals. After a flight has landed, it takes typically 30-45 minutes to clear Passport / immigration clearance, baggage claim and Custom check. At peak hour, this process can be even take longer (up to an hour or more).

Have you informed your guest about the exact pick up point / meeting point at Heathrow?

Heathrow airport makes picking up and meeting up easy for you upon arrival. Meeting or pick up points are marked with the following sign.

Meeting point for Heathrow arrivals are located at easy to find spots at each terminal. At Terminal 1, meeting point / pick up point are located at next to the Costa coffee bar on ground floor of the international arrivals area. At Terminal 3, meeting point / pick up point are located in the arrivals hall at Ground floor where the seats are. For Terminal 4, the meeting point / pick up point are located on ground floor, next to WHSmith. Lastly, for Heathrow Terminal 5, the meeting points / pick up points are located at the north and south end on the ground floor.

Note that waiting in car are not allowed at the terminal building. Therefore, you are advised to park your car at Heathrow Short Stay Car Parks.

Is your guest contactable on his/her mobile phone?

This is most helpful in case your guest get lost at the terminal building. Exchange mobile number before hand. If roaming charge is a concern, text or sms should be sufficient to get in touch upon arrival at Heathrow Airport.

Finally, be patient. After all, you are there to pick up or meet your guest for a reason. It is definitely worth it to wait for your loved one. You can spend some time shopping at Heathrow while waiting for the arrival of your guest or chit chat with others who are there waiting for their Heathrow arrivals.